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Press Release- NAME CHANGE FOR EDUCATIONAL LEADERSHIP ASSOCIATIONFOUNDED IN 1947After nearly a half century the National Council of Professors of Educational Administration known as NCPEA has voted to change its name to ICPEL, the International Council of Professors of Educational Leadership. The organization, centered at Eastern Michigan University, was established in 1947. The announcement came after a vote of the membership in which the name change was overwhelmingly approved. Dr. James Berry, Executive Director, said that, “The executive board felt that it was time to recognize in our name the enormous changes which have been occurring in the preparation of educational leaders, not only nationally but internationally.” He explained that the name “educational administration” is now dated because it does not reflect the enormous expansion of duties which have impacted school leaders all over the world, especially the critical importance of linking leadership performance to student achievement.“The problems of educational leadership are not confined to the political boundaries of any specific nation any longer,” Berry explained, “our recent thrust of educational leaders without borders underscores the importance of international concern about confronting problems which have no borders. Our central purpose is to conduct research and field preparation to enable prospective leaders to be successful within these global trends. It’s something we were already doing, but our membership felt it was time to make it official with the rebranding of the organization.”NCPEA’s membership includes professors from universities and colleges across the nation and in recent times academics from foreign countries. The attendance at the association’s annual summer conference has included between 200-500 professors and practitioners. This year’s annual conference will be held in San Juan, Puerto Rico, where the name change to ICPEL will be celebrated.“We are tremendously excited about this rebranding of our association’s focus,” commented Autumn Cypres, associate dean at St. Johns University in New York and President of the association, “this development was long overdue and we are delighted that it positions ourselves for the challenges of the twenty-first century.”NOTE: For more information regarding this announcement contact Dr. James Berry, Executive Director, NCPEA at JBerry @emich.edu or call 734-487-0255